I’ve been sticking close to the water, despite being far from the coast. I started the week at Watauga, a beautiful little campground run by the Tennessee Valley Authority. I have to admit that launching my kayak from my campsite is the way to go. I’ll be back here before the season ends, and am looking forward to more of that easy kayaking.
Friday, I moved over to Horseshoe Point, a Corps of Engineers site back up in Virginia, close enough to the Blue Ridge mountains that I drove a bit on the Parkway. I wasn’t supposed to, but I got lost. Very lost. Like down a steep gravel road kind of lost. Roads in this part of Virginia don’t really go straight for very long and I was sure I was heading east when the compass and Garmin were both telling me that direction was actually west. Oops. I finally arrived at the campground, late and tired. But the site itself was great: plenty of shade, pull-through (not back-in), and – my favorite feature lately – electricity.
I had a great Saturday visiting with fellow Alto owners who live nearby, and they were kind enough to indulge my need for a photo with purple in it. This old barn stands in for every broken down building I’ve seen recently but not stopped to photograph. There are a lot of abandoned places in southern Virginia and each one calls to me, even when there’s no way I can stop and take the photo.
On one gas stop, I picked up a little hitchhiker. I don’t know who was more surprised when I pulled back out onto the highway. He was a trooper, though, one front leg hooked over the edge of the hood. He held on till I found a little spot to pull over and then he jumped off and went exploring in his new territory. Vagabonds, we take care of each other.
My home right now is on Kerr Lake, another Corps of Engineers reservoir that provides water sports for all. There’s a little swimming beach near me, and this cloud was simply wonderful.
When I met up with my brother and sister-in-law for Bristol weekend, they brought presents from Amazon (OK, stuff I had ordered and sent to their address, so not really Santa). One of those things was a lens adapter to experiment with macro photography and see if I want to spend the big bucks on a real macro lens. I had a blast wandering around one afternoon shooting closeups like this one.
The one challenging aspect lately has been the weather: hot and humid most days, with temperatures reaching into the low 90s. Definitely not my weather. I sweated through two sets of clothes yesterday between unhitching and setting up camp and didn’t even bother using the hot water in the camp shower this morning; straight cold felt the best. Afternoons bring thundershowers about half the time and there’s one starting to rumble above me as I type. I’m happy to have electric hookups for the next few weeks to get me through this heat and humidity!
Early in the mornings it was a little cool and their shadows stretched out tall on the sidewalk in front of them. But in the middle of the day the sky was always blazing hot. The glare was so bright it hurt to keep your eyes open.
Carson McCullers (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter)
Peg says
Keep cool and enjoy the lake!
Lynne Panico says
I love following your travels and photographs. I plan to travel next summer through the Northwest via Canada in my Ford F150 and a 4 Wheel Camper Hawk. I live in Maine.
Annie says
Hi, Lynne! Thanks for reading and letting me know you like my blog, that means a lot to me. The Pacific Northwest is gorgeous, and you have all winter to plan and dream, lucky you!